Only Half-Weasley
A/N: This was supposed to be the sequel to "The Adventure Continued," but there were too many plot holes to be filled, so I decided to make it a separate story. However, there are some links between the two so if you read something that sounds familiar then you know why. I hope you enjoy this!
"So, what do you want for dinner tonight, Gin-bug? Roast beef or liver and onions?" Alex Miller called humorously across the kitchen to his red-haired wife. Ginny was sitting at the dining room table absorbed in a letter and didn't realize her husband had said anything until she was attacked with kisses a moment later.
"What?" Ginny asked, finally tearing her brown eyes away from the piece of parchment. "Oh. Dinner? I'm sorry, Hun, I forgot to tell you! Mum invited me over to dinner tonight. It's Harry's twenty-first birthday and I guess we're celebrating it."
"Harry?" Alex repeated, raising an eyebrow as if deep in thought. "Who's Harry? Anyone I should worry about?"
Ginny laughed, one that went from her stomach to her eyes and lit up her face. "No, Alex," Ginny answered. "He's my brother's best friend and almost a brother to me. I have known him since I was ten, but he went away last year on a trip and I haven't seen him since. I kind of want to go."
Alex sat down next to his wife and looked stared into her eyes. "Have you told your family about me, yet?"
Ginny turned crimson red with embarrassment and shook her head. "No, I haven't," she confessed. "I just haven't gotten around to it yet."
"You're not embarrassed about me, are you?" Alex questioned again, stilling staring at her although Ginny was now staring at the letter in her hands and fingering the engraved lines from the quills. Her brown eyes reflected an unfamiliar sense of fear that Alex quickly picked up, but still could not comprehend.
"No, of course not," she denied casually. "I just don't think they would understand."
"Understand what? That we eloped?" Alex persisted, getting irritated with Ginny's short answers.
"No!" Ginny retorted, looking squarely at her husband. "And yes. My parents are old-fashioned, Alex. They just wouldn't understand. I'm their baby; their only girl. Don't you think they would have wanted to be involved in our wedding plans?"
Alex grabbed Ginny's hands and held them tight in his firm grip. "Gin-bug, when we got married, you agreed that it was for the best that your parents didn't know. Now, you've changed your mind. What do you really want?"
Ginny met Alex's eyes and read the pleading look he gave her. He wanted to be given the chance to meet her family, to make a good impression, and to be free of their secrets. Alex's parents knew about their surprise wedding and accepted their decision- why couldn't they let Ginny's parents know?
However, Ginny felt the exam opposite, dreading the day her parents discovered her marriage. Alex's parents could understand their son's capricious nature because they had nothing to worry about. He was a Muggle- had no magical talent in his bones and knew nothing of Ginny's world. Alex was mostly oblivious to the strange things that happened around the two lovers- things that made Ginny so unique that Alex couldn't put a figure on why she was so special.
Ginny also knew that her parents would understand too well what had happened and would be furious. Ginny was the only child of the Weasley family to elope, with a Muggle no less, and it was something she wanted to keep from them, something she wasn't entirely proud of. Her wedding was an act of love and rebellion as she defied her family system and now she was dreading the day when she would be forced to face the consequences. Sure, the tale of her elopement would get out eventually, but she hoped that the longer she kept it from them, the better were the chances of her parents accepting it.
Yet, looking back into her husband's eyes, she couldn't help feeling that she owed it to him. She had met his parents and knew that his they simply adored her. Who was she to deny the same chance that Alex could have with her parents? "Alright, sweetheart," Ginny ran her hand through his silky, black hair. "I will tell them tonight, I promise. If they are willing to accept it, I will bring you over tomorrow."
Alex smiled and placed a kiss on his wife's cheek. "Good," he said, standing up. "Now, as for me, if you are going to spend your time at a birthday party, then I will be alone won't I? I think I'll go out with Jake tonight and we'll have dinner at a pub. You be good, Ok? If you need anything, you have my cell phone number. Bye, Gin." He kissed her soft lips, grabbed his black leather jacket, and walked out the door.
Ginny slowly got up from her chair and looked back at the letter that was from her mum. Her mum had also noticed the distance that Ginny had been keeping between herself and the Weasleys and was expressing her worries. It had been four months since Ginny had seen any member of the Weasley family and her long absence was beginning to be noticed.
Taking a warm sweater from her coat rack, Ginny approached the fireplace. She grabbed a handful of white-sand from a fake orchid plant on a nearby table and threw it into the fire. The fire burst into green life, waiting for Ginny to call out her destination. With a heavy sigh, Ginny cried, "The Burrow!" and jumped in her fireplace, disappearing among the roaring flames.
"Ginny!" A familiar female voice met her sudden appearance. Ginny fell to her knees in the kitchen of her childhood home and choked from the surrounding smoke. It had been ages since Ginny had used the floo-network for transportation and she was quickly reminded why she stopped using it. "Come on, Gin, get up!" Hermione called above her. "You're not going to die, you know."
"Well, look who it is! It's our favorite sister!" Ron greeted his sister sarcastically, lazily sitting at the table.
"Ronald!" Hermione cried, helping Ginny to her feet and patting her back. Ginny coughed again and the giant smoke cloud erupted from her mouth and made her want to gag. "You're Ok, Gin. Just breathe."
After a few more coughs, Ginny finally regained her breath and composure. She looked around the room at her family. Her father was sitting at the head of the table with her mother next to him. Then there was Bill and Fleur, the latter holding their five-month old daughter, Maria, followed by Charlie, the twins, Ron, Hermione, and Harry who ended the circle on Mr. Weasley's other side.
Ginny glanced slightly at Harry and what she saw made her heart skip a beat: hope. Harry was staring at her in awe and the light in his eyes showed that she was the obvious reason that he came to the burrow. Ginny's heart did a flip in response, but she quickly looked away from him. She was in love with Alex now, not Harry. She was married to Alex.
"Oh, why did Harry have to look at me like that?" Ginny thought to herself miserably, wanting to dismiss the him entirely. She smiled meekly at the rest of the family, while dusting herself off. "Hi," she greeted, unsure of what they thought about her long absence from the family.
"Ginny!" Mrs. Weasley cried, coming over and squashing her daughter. "Oh, I am so happy you came! This just wouldn't be a party without you!"
"Hey!" Fred and George shouted angrily. "You never say that to us!"
Mrs. Weasley ignored her two sons and conjured an empty chair for Ginny to sit between Hermione and Harry. Ginny blushed slightly as she sat down between her two friends, one that she hadn't seen for a year and the other that was married to her dear brother and somehow, Ginny had lost touch with.
"So, where were we?" Charlie interrupted the awkward silence. "Oh Dad, did you hear about the new regulations in Romania? I think it will definitely affect the import and export of dragon blood…" The rest of the family joined in the conversation and the room was as noisy as it had been before Ginny's entrance.
Ginny grabbed a bowl and poured some hot, steaming stew. The smell reminded Ginny of her own poor attempts at cooking and brought back her homesickness. Suddenly, Ginny wished she had never left home in the first place.
"So, Ginny, what have you been up to?" Hermione asked her friend, sipping some of her own brown broth.
Ginny's stomach jolted slightly and almost spit out her own food. She grabbed her napkin and stuck it in front of her mouth before anything could come out.
"Are you ok, Ginny?" Hermione asked, looking concerned.
"Yes," Ginny responded, flattening her napkin on her lap. If only Hermione knew what she had been up to the last four months! "Oh, you know, working as usual. It's been busy at the Department of Mysteries," Ginny answered, hoping no one could read her mind. The rest of the family nodded their heads and Ginny let out her breath, almost laughing. She had deceived them! Perhaps she could do it again! But she had promised Alex that she would tell her parents that night; she just couldn't break her promise to the very person she loved.
"Yeah, the workload is getting heavier, isn't it, Gin?" her father agreed. "It seems like every day, there is a new problem to face!"
"Err…yeah, Dad," Ginny replied, keeping her eyes on her stew. Though the words sounded vague in her ears, her head was too busy hoping and praying that Harry wouldn't talk to her. She felt like a little school girl, again! So childish! Yet, if Harry didn't talk to her, then it might make it easier to tell him about her marriage. Perhaps he wouldn't be too disappointed with her and he could go find another girl to marry. The last thought made Ginny sick again: the thought of Harry marrying someone else. "He is supposed to marry you!" part of her brain told her. "Yes, but she is already married to an awesome person, isn't she?" the other part retorted.
"Have you been watching Quidditch lately, Ginny?" said Harry.
Ginny banged her head on the table and cried in frustration, "Knock on wood!"
The conversation unexpectedly died as every eye turned towards her again, each pair full of curiosity and confusion. "She's mental," the twins whispered in awe.
"Oh crud, did I say that out loud?" Ginny smiled nervously, turning a bright shade of red again. "I'm just joking. Is anyone else hot in here or is it just me? I think I need to go get some air. I'll be back." Ginny jumped up and bolted towards the back door and let herself out into the garden.
The starry, summer night was strangely cool for the end of July, but Ginny hardly noticed. She just kept walking across the grass until she found a pond at the edge of the forest behind the Weasley's house. She sat down under a tree beside it and let her head fall in her hands: how could she keep on going, lying to her family? What would Alex think of her when she came home and told him she didn't have the strength to tell her family one of the most important things in her life? "Why did I have to be so stupid?" Ginny muttered irritably.
"You're not stupid, Gin," Hermione's voice whispered in her ear. Ginny turned her head and saw Hermione kneeling next to her. "Can I sit here with you?"
Ginny shrugged and rested her head again. "I am stupid, Hermione," Ginny exclaimed. "I did something really stupid and now I can't even tell my family. How will he ever forgive me?"
"What are you talking about?" Hermione asked, putting a hand on her red-headed friend's shoulder. "Maybe if you would talk to me, it would be easier. Harry will always forgive you, you know that-"
"It's not about Harry," Ginny quickly interrupted.
"Who else is it about?" Hermione asked calmly. "I can't imagine anyone not forgiving you!"
Ginny's eyes were on the brink of tears as she turned to her friend. "Hermione, you don't understand!" Ginny cried. "I have kept something from you that I should have told you months ago but I was so scared."
"You got fired from work?" Hermione guessed, eyeing her friend quizzically.
"No, Hermione, I'm married; I eloped," Ginny whispered miserably. Ginny could hear Hermione's sharp intake of breath and Hermione's grip on her shoulder tightened.
"When did this happen?" Hermione asked quietly.
"A couple of months ago," Ginny admitted, cowering under Hermione's piercing gaze. "His name is Alex Miller. I met him a year ago at a pub in London while I was on one of my assignments. He's a Muggle, though, and he doesn't even know about our world- that I'm a witch. I have been pretending for the last year that I'm a normal person to Alex and on top of that, I'm pretending to my family that I'm just a busy, working single girl! I just want to stop pretending!" Ginny shouted.
"Gin," said Hermione soothingly. Ginny squinted at her friend, more prepared for Hermione to shout angrily at her instead giving her the gentle reply. "Why don't you tell your parents? They would understand, wouldn't they?"
"Of course they wouldn't!" Ginny argued, groaning at the thought of telling her mum and dad. "They would much rather see me married to Harry. Instead, I went off and eloped with a Muggle. Do you think that's going to go over well?"
"I guess not," Hermione answered lamely. "I thought you loved Harry, though. I admit that I am shocked that you didn't choose to marry him instead."
A sad glaze had taken over Ginny's face and her eyes were misty with memories. "I thought I would, too, you know? Harry had always said that he truly loved me and I have loved him my entire life!" Ginny laughed, but the darkness brought about reality to her as she continued. "Harry left, though, Hermione. I didn't know when or if he was going to be back and when the chance came, I attached myself to someone else. Don't get me wrong, I do love Alex! I just have this hole somewhere in my heart where Harry belongs. I think the reason that I love Alex so much is that he reminds me of Harry- the same black hair, funny smile, and round nose. I figured that if I couldn't have Harry, I would settle for the next best thing. I wouldn't dare leave Alex, though. He has meant so much to me and I love his family."
Hermione sighed and took Ginny's left hand. "This is the ring, I suppose?" Hermione asked rhetorically.
Ginny nodded, looking at the beautiful diamond ring and band on her left ring finger. Ginny had loved it the moment she had set eyes on it and it was always a reminder that she was in love with Alex- not Harry. After all, hadn't Alex been there for her for the last year? Where had Harry been?
"You have a lot to be happy about, Ginny," Hermione commented, letting go on her friend's freezing hand. "I'm sure Alex is a great person and I hope I can meet him one day."
Ginny smiled fondly at Hermione. "You will, I promise. He has been dying to meet everyone. I have just kept postponing the moment when I tell my parents that I messed up."
"Marrying a Muggle isn't a bad thing, Ginny!" Hermione protested. "Look at me? I'm the daughter of two Muggles!"
"No, it's not, 'Mione," Ginny looked at her sister-in-law in the face, "but not following your heart is. Sometimes I think I should have waited for Harry."
Hermione looked sorrowfully into Ginny's face. "I wish you did, too. It would be great to have Harry in the family."
Ginny chuckled at the idea. "That's not a reason to marry someone!"
"No, but it was just a nice thought," Hermione smiled. "Come on, let's go back. I'm sure they have already cut the cake in there. Are you really planning on telling your parents, Gin?"
Ginny looked up into the sky thoughtfully and when she returned to earth, she shook her head. "No, not yet. It's Harry's birthday- I don't have the heart to disappoint him. Promise you won't tell anyone, will you?" Ginny prayed hopefully.
Hermione took a minute to think and then shook her head. "I'll leave it up to you," she finally answered. "It's your life- you can direct it anyway you go. I just think you're making a mistake the longer you prolong the task."
"I know," Ginny said, "but if Harry is happy and hopeful for one more day, than it would be worth the consequences."
Before entering back into the kitchen, Hermione caught the affectionate look on Ginny's face as she said her last sentence. Hermione couldn't help thinking that Ginny had made the biggest mistake of her life and didn't realize it. The young girl was so blindly in love that it might take years before she will finally understand her mistake or maybe she might never understand at all. "If only Harry hadn't left," Hermione couldn't help thinking before she followed her sister-in-law into the bright room where the rest of the family was sending their blessings to Harry.
"Ginny, is that you?" Alex called from the couch in their living room where he was lying across the cushions and watching the new television they had bought last weekend.
"Yes, Hun, it's me," Ginny answered, hanging her sweater up and sitting on top of Alex's legs. "Did you miss me?" Ginny asked, kissing him.
"Of course!" Alex laughed, and then added seriously, "Did you tell them?" Ginny bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "Ginny! You promised!"
"I couldn't tell them, Alex!" Ginny cried, tears falling down her cheeks.
"Ginny, you promised me that you would tell them. Why didn't you? Tell me the truth, Gin," Alex begged.
"I am so sorry, Alex, but it wasn't the right time," said Ginny, wiping the tears out of her eyes. "Everything just seemed to get worse and I didn't have the heart to tell them."
"What got worse?"
Ginny looked up at the ceiling as if she were recalling all the events that happened. "First, I fell out of the fireplace-"
"What were you doing in the fireplace?"
"I fell in it?" Ginny excused.
"So you fell into and out of the fireplace?" Alex questioned, looking confused and irritated at the conflicting events.
"Alex!" Ginny cried with equal frustration. "Can't we just give it up? My family will never accept us."
"They won't even know to accept us if you don't try, Gin!" Alex countered, looking coldly at his wife. "Maybe this marriage is a mistake. I can tell you're hiding a lot of things from me, Ginny, and I don't like it. I was open and honest with you when we got married and I expected the same from you."
"Alex!" Ginny cried, bursting into tears. "How can you say that!" Ginny ran to their dark room and flung herself onto the bed, burying her head in her pillow. "This is such a nightmare!" she thought. "Why can't everything be the way it used to be?"
"Gin-bug," Alex called softly. Ginny stopped crying and her body froze as she felt the bed fall under Alex's weight. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I shouldn't have said that. I just wish you were more open about your problems. If you are really having issues with your family, then I won't pressure you anymore. But please, Gin, at least be honest with me."
"Alex," Ginny got up and embraced her husband, "I'm sorry, too. I wish I could do this, but I can't be sure that they would be happy for me. Please, let me wait until I am ready, ok?"
Alex let go of Ginny and held her face in his hands. "Alright, Gin," Alex agreed and kissed her warm lips before the two went to sleep. Half of Ginny's brain was tired from her dramatic day, but the other half was busy thinking about what Alex said. Was their marriage really a mistake? Was Ginny really destined to marry the other person she had crushed since she was a little girl? Ginny felt Alex's strong arms around and realized that she had made her choice a long time ago. Harry Potter would have to find love somewhere else.